Maps have been around for centuries- they help us know what cultures were aware of in terms of their neighbors, other lands, and so on. Map making continues today, as we map other planets, the bottom of the seas, and continually produce high quality maps here that measure various aspects of culture, demographics, and geography.

MODERATORS

So, I've been looking through all of the various maps and pieces of advice here, and I noticed that pretty much everyone uses free-form drawing of some sort to put their maps together, and I was wondering if there was some particular reason nobody uses tiled maps. The last two maps I designed were both hex-based, which made it very easy to assign properties to a given region, simply by saying that hex (x,y) had such and such site(s) of interest, resources, encounters, etc. Am I alone in that particular style of fantasy cartography?

I sort of do both. I draw mine in paint but draw it to scale. When I am done I apply and mark the grid. It gives them a realistic, natural feel (I hope) without sacrificing any practicality (travel time, etc).